1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the fields of jewelry and jewelry manufacturing. More particularly, the invention concerns methods of producing articles of jewelry with one or more stones discretely mounted thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of stones as decorative elements of jewelry is extremely widespread and dates back thousands of years. Among the more popular precious and semi-precious stones used in such jewelry are diamonds, emeralds, rubies, opals and sapphires. Jewels such as these are commonly set in rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, etc. which are primarily made of metal such as gold, silver, platinum, etc. Such articles of jewelry utilize xe2x80x98settingsxe2x80x99 to mount the stones onto the carrying portion of the jewelry and shall be referred to herein as xe2x80x9cstone setxe2x80x9d jewelry.
In addition to manufacturing considerations found in any sphere of mass production, jewelry designers and producers place a premium on the overall aesthetics of an article of jewelry. Thus, jewelry designers have striven to create the most attractive works possible at a minimum cost. In large part, the overall beauty of stone set jewelry is derived from the quality and brilliance of the stones used therein. Since the manner in which a stone is set into an article of jewelry is a major factor in determining the quality of the overall work, the stone used in an article of jewelry must be retained therein in a manner which emphasizes the brilliance of the stone. Accordingly, jewelry manufacturers have long striven to develop methods of retaining stones within jewelry in the least obtrusive manner possible.
Unfortunately, stone settings used in conventional jewelry invariably interfere with the visual appearance of the stones themselves. This is true regardless of whether such jewelry is prong set, channel set or bezel set, etc. For example, prong set jewelry typically utilizes four prongs which extend from the stone carrying portion of the jewelry over the top of the stone to secure the stone against movement. Restated in more conventional terms, in prong set jewelry, stones are retained in the jewelry by the use of prongs which emanate from below the pavilion of the stone, extend over the girdle and terminate on the table of the stone. This manner of affixing stones to jewelry necessarily causes at least some degradation of the stone""s brilliance due to the fact that at least a portion of the stone is covered by the prongs. Thus, in order to achieve a given level of brilliance, a higher quality stone must be used to compensate for the presence of such prongs. Naturally, this leads to increased costs. Finally, the fact that the conventional method of setting stones in jewelry occurs on an individual basis further increases costs relative to a method in which multiple settings can be simultaneously formed.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide methods of producing jewelry of the type having stones set in a carrying member wherein the setting is not visible when the jewelry is viewed from the top side of the stones.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide methods of producing jewelry of the type having clusters of stones set in a carrying member wherein the setting for each of the stones in each cluster are produced simultaneously.
A further object of the present invention is to provide methods of producing jewelry of the type having stones set in a carrying member, such methods reducing manufacturing wastes, costs and production times.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide methods of producing jewelry of the type having stones set in a carrying member wherein the stones can be set in the jewelry simultaneously with the casting of the remainder of the article of jewelry.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of mounting stones to the wax jewelry models used in conjunction with lost-wax casting.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide methods of producing jewelry utilizing precious and semi-precious stones wherein the stones appear to be of higher quality than stones of comparable value when set in conventional jewelry.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods of producing jewelry of the general character noted above, such methods offering an optimal combination of versatility, economy, simplicity and efficiency.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are provided in one embodiment by providing methods of producing stone set jewelry in which at least one affixation groove is formed within the stone to be set therein. The stone should have an upper and a lower portion which is at least substantially entirely hidden from view when the upper portion of the stone is viewed. The affixation groove should be formed in the lower portion of the stone such that it too is hidden from view when the upper portion of the stone is viewed.
The inventive method further comprises the deposition of a mounting material within the affixation groove by applying one of a number of conventional casting methods such as the lost-wax casting method. Finally, any excess deposited mounting material can be removed and the stone fixed to the article of jewelry via the mounting material such that the mounting material of a completed article of jewelry is not visible when the stone is viewed from the upper portion thereof.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lost-wax casting method is utilized to deposit the mounting material (preferably the same metal used to form the carrying portion of the jewelry and most preferably gold) within the affixation groove of the stone. This method of casting preferably comprises the following steps: forming a wax model of the stone-receiving portion of the article of jewelry; mounting the stone to the model such that wax occupies at least a portion of the affixation groove; forming an investment about the wax mold and the stones; removing the wax from the investment by the application of heat; replacing the wax removed from the investment with a mounting material such that the mounting material occupies at least a portion of the affixation groove; and removing the investment from the stone and mounting material.
One aspect of the present invention improves upon the lost-wax casting method by using heat and pressure to aid in mounting each stone to the wax model prior to forming the investment. The heat and pressure ensure that the stone is properly positioned in the model and that wax of the model penetrates the affixation grooves. Stones securely mounted to and properly positioned on the wax model improve the quality of the resultant cast jewelry.
The methods of the present invention further improve over the prior art in that the only modification to the gem stone is to cut affixation grooves in the pavilion of the stone. U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,434 to Itzkowitz, for example, discloses an invisible setting for round diamonds which requires extensive modifications to the girdle of the stone prior to creation of the affixation grooves. Not only are such modifications to the stone expensive, some size, weight and brilliance of the stone are necessarily lost.
Variations of the preferred embodiment of the present invention focus on different ways of forming the affixation groove within a stone to be set in an article of jewelry. For example, one method of forming the affixation groove entails cutting the groove into a stone using a blade which is advanced toward and into the pavilion of the stone at an angle of 90xc2x0 and then causing relative rotation between the stone and the blade whereby a generally annular groove is formed in the stone.
It is also possible to form first and second linear affixation grooves on the pavilion of a stone in order to secure the stone to the settings in two locations. The affixation groove can be defined between two substantially symmetric adjoining walls. In certain circumstances, the affixation groove can also be defined between two opposing side walls and an adjoining bottom wall.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the invention, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.